I'm a first time bride who stepped into Deborah's Bridal as my very first bridal salon and walked out with the wedding gown of my dreams. I had surgery a month prior and wasn't feeling my absolute "best," but with some family and friends by my ...side and my SWEETHEART/SUPERSTAR of a consultant, Autumn, I walked out with my dream wedding dress. I chose Deborah's as a location to try on gowns because I saw a dress online that they carried that was within my budget. When I got there, I tried that dress on first and it immediately wasn't the one - I was really discouraged, as I knew I was the type of person who would have a difficult time feeling good and confident with a dress such as this, designed to make me shine as the center of all attention. Autumn swooped right in and showed her expertise in keeping the appointment moving - encouraging me to step out my comfort zone and (more importantly, I think) she knew how to help me identify the pieces I liked about each dress, even if the dress as a whole wasn't the perfect fit. Within 6-7 dresses, she had found a dress that miraculously compiled all of the different pieces I liked from other dresses into one show-stopper of a gown. While pulling it up around my hips, I knew it was the one. And so did my brother, as he started crying as soon as I walked out onto the podium.
I had a budget of $2000 all in for the dress and veil, and I was able to find a stunning Morilee gown and cathedral veil for $2100. In showing the pictures, no one can believe that such a beautiful look was achieved for such a great price. There were so many more styles and elegant options to choose from in my price range than I even thought!
If I had one suggestion for Deborah's... it would be to please please ease up on the picture taking rules, especially once the bride has found "the one"! I have so much out of town family that wasn't able to make it. Now, they do take pictures on their ipad to send to you, but if I'm completely honest, the pictures aren't great quality, and upon leaving the salon I looked at the pictures and was a little disappointed that that's al I have to look back on/show my family and friends in the 5 months it'll take for the dress to come in. The pictures are blurry, I'm unposed in most of them, and felt frumpy looking at them so I haven't really shown them off. I've been to many other bridal salons with friends in the past where they allow videos and pictures to be taken so that the bride can see how the dress moves and feels after her purchase. I understand the need to keep the appointments tight and productive, but their policy was overly restrictive compared to other salons that are more flexible.
Still, I would go back again for the same outcome, and I still give a 5 star review for Autumn's amazing consulting. She was warm, supportive, encouraging, and really met me where i was at given my timidness around the process going in. I'm so glad I was one-and-done with just one salon to find my dream dress, and I really do owe it all to Autumn for navigating us to the finish line. Thanks Girl!!!